Welcome to The Tuesday Slot, we once again publish another “Nightmare on Timeshare Street” with the Rodriguez family. As Inside Timeshare is still on vacation there is not much to report from Europe, but this news was sent to us by Canarian Legal Alliance.
They began this week with 5 more sentences being issued at the Courts of First Instance in Maspalomas, with over 235,000€ being awarded and the contracts being declared null and void.
Four of the sentences involved our old friends in Gran Canaria, Anfi and there was one against Airtours, all were also sanctioned by the courts for illegal deposit taking within the cooling off period, which means the clients will receive double what they originally paid.
In another release from CLA, it looks like the team of lawyers who are responsible for enforcing payments are having great success. In three cases filed at court to enforce Anfi to payout they have secured the following amounts for their clients, this money is now with the courts ready to be transferred to the clients accounts:
46.130,66 €
28.391,60 €
14.186,18 €
So we have some very happy ex-timeshare owners and it is only the start of the week, now for our Tuesday Slot.
The Rodriguez Family Share their Marriott Timeshare Experience
September 18, 2018
There are many who use and enjoy their timeshare. When sold honestly, the consumer knows what they bought. Timeshares sell on the secondary market for a fraction of their purchase price, so when buyers are told the timeshare would be easy to sell – a rude awakening ensues when they learn the truth.
For those who purchase a timeshare that has a limited secondary market value, knowing what that value might be in advance of a purchase is a disclosure that would be beneficial for the consumer, but a disaster for the industry.
Magical Realty in Orlando specializes in Marriott Vacations Worldwide resales. I have advised the family to call Magical Realty to find out an estimate of how long it would take, and what it would cost, to sell a timeshare that was clearly not right for this family. Magical Realty charges nothing upfront to list a timeshare. We recommend avoiding companies that charge any money upfront to list or sell a timeshare. https://magicalrealty.com/
By the Rodriguez family
We bought two Marriott Vacations Worldwide timeshares in 2014, one in the Virgin Islands, and a second in 2015 in Addison, TX. Our intention was to spend quality family time together. Our actual experience has been one of anger and frustration over limited availability and false promises.
Our first 2014 St. Thomas timeshare presentation was stressful. It dragged on for hours. I felt the sales reps played my wife against me. I said “no” the entire time, but eventually told my wife, “Fine, I know I have horrible credit, so let them run a credit check, I will be declined, and we will walk away.” I was recovering from a bad business deal at the time so my credit score was in the low 500s. My boat had been repossessed and my house was in foreclosure. I was sure we would be turned down. Well, they said I passed with flying colors! With my wife there, I felt I had to go through with it. Bad mistake! I told Marriott we would sign up, but told them I will have to get the loan refinanced. They assured me that I would be able refinance, but I would need to wait until a year of payments had passed. When I talked to my bank, they told me I could NEVER refinance.
I complained to our rep. He suggested I attend a question and answer session in Addison, Texas. It wasn’t a question and answer session. It was another sales presentation. I could kill myself, but we signed up for a second purchase because of representative’s Benjamin J’s promises:
“We will make it right. You can have my direct phone number and I will make sure you are taken care of. I don’t make anything off of this sale. I am just here, dedicated to you so that you are happy with this experience.”
Benjamin was no help. We feel that man lied to us. He showed us charts that illustrated how the timeshare would appreciate in value. That’s not true. This presentation was also long and stressful. Benjamin said we would get extra points but we never did. He told us he would be our personal representative, promising to make reservations if we needed help, but he never returned calls.
Marriott locations have never been available – we tried to book Hawaii, Aruba, Florida, Orlando, San Diego, and New York. The properties are always booked, even if we tried booking a year in advance. We don’t even have good vacations to show for this miserable experience. Vail, Colorado for two summers in a row was about it, when we really wanted to go skiing in winter. Branson, Missouri we booked out of desperation, ending up vacationing at the senior citizens capital of America. St Kitts was absolutely the worst vacation we have ever taken – all rocks and no beach access. Our room was downgraded four times before we checked in. They never told us we could be “bumped” out of our reservation to a lesser room. We reserved an ocean front room, were downgraded to ocean view, then to pool view and by the time we checked in we were downgraded to a garden view.
The statements made by the Marriott representatives that led to this:
- They said it was a great investment,
- The value would increase,
- It had built in equity,
- It would be a tax write off.
- We could rent it out to cover annual fees.
- Our maintenance fees would not increase every year,
- We would have no trouble booking locations.
When we asked more about the rental income and the amount of appreciation, the reps said it would be easy to sell because of the income potential and appreciation, or Marriott would buy it back. So why don’t they buy it back?
They are correct we could pass the timeshare onto our children, but in no way would we want to burden our kids with this useless thing. When we contacted MVC about them buying it back, they told us we would be put on a waiting list, but that it’s unlikely it would be bought back.
I complained to the Better Business Bureau. Marriott’s response was not to address the behavior of their sales staff, but to refer me to our signatures and initials on the contract. I was told 90% of their customers are happy with their vacation choices and availability. Needless to say, my BBB complaint was administratively closed before any real dialog could take place. It’s funny that BBB assigns the company one star out of five, based on customer reviews.
This has literally been one of the worst experiences we have ever had in terms of deception and aggressive sales tactics that seem geared to wear you down while playing spouses against each other.
Have you had an experience like this, would you like to share with it with others, if so contact Inside Timeshare and we will help you to publish your own “Nightmare on Timeshare Street”.
Inside Timeshare will be running back to normal from Monday 1 October when we will be in full swing bringing you more information and revealing the latest bogus companies that come to our attention. In the meantime, if you have any contact with a company and you are unsure if they are genuine, please do use our contact sheet and let us know. We will research them for you and point you in the right direction. We will also publish the results to warn others, it is through your help that we can identify these people and save other from losing thousands.
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